1993 STX 4x4 Restoration | Project Peggy

[projectRanger93]

Nice work!

Thanks!!!

 

[projectRanger93]

For labor day weekend in September, i drove the truck from LA to Joshua tree for the weekend. The trip took 4 hours to get there (traffic) and 2.5 hours back. Temperatures were well above 100 degrees outside and even though the engine was doing fine, once we arrived coolant was spilling out from the reservoir. I may have over filled it. Nonetheless the truck did great, but was very slow going up hill. AC wasn't working during this trip so my fiance was pretty angry throughout haha, oh well. I took the following photos while out there.

Driving on the rocky roads broke the rear left speaker since the adhesion of the drum (don't know the real name) was too old to hold it together while jumping up and down. The trip ended with no working sound. Boo.

 

[ericbphoto]

For labor day weekend in September, i drove the truck from LA to Joshua tree for the weekend. The trip took 4 hours to get there (traffic) and 2.5 hours back. Temperatures were well above 100 degrees outside and even though the engine was doing fine, once we arrived coolant was spilling out from the reservoir. I may have over filled it. Nonetheless the truck did great, but was very slow going up hill. AC wasn't working during this trip so my fiance was pretty angry throughout haha, oh well. I took the following photos while out there.
View attachment 36538View attachment 36539View attachment 36540View attachment 36541

Driving on the rocky roads broke the rear left speaker since the adhesion of the drum (don't know the real name) was too old to hold it together while jumping up and down. The trip ended with no working sound. Boo.

No tunes and a disgruntled fiancée. What a trip.

Nice truck!

 

[projectRanger93]

I forgot to mention that before labor day weekend the truck turned off unexpectedly twice, so to avoid breaking down in the middle of nowhere i replaced the crankshaft sensor. Super easy, but one of the bolts was a bit awkward to loosen.

Motorcraft

DY908

Engine Crankshaft Position Sensor

A few more fixes immediately took place after Joshua Tree,. The AC (reserved for a later post), rear bumper, and cabin speakers. The rear bumper was sagging from an old accident, so i unbent the bracket and reinforced it, while giving everything a new paint job. The cabin speakers were completely replaced with Pioneer 350W and they sounded great afterward.

Pioneer

TS-A6880F

350W Speakers

A month later in October i got the windows tinted because it's absolutely necessary in So Cal (50% in front, 30% rear) and I purchased new Warn locking hubs. More off-roading is definitely needed.

Warn

37780

Manual Locking Hubs

 

[projectRanger93]

No tunes and a disgruntled fiancée. What a trip.

Nice truck!

Hahaha she hasn't let me forget it yet, and probably won't for years. Thanks though!

 

[projectRanger93]

Not much work took place on the Ranger in the end part of 2019. Birthdays, holidays and other personal projects are to blame.
On a recent trip to the junkyard, I got a couple of hub caps, a class 3 tow hitch (restoration and installation saved for later), a 4-wire trailer harness, and 1995 owners manual because why not.

Draw-Tite

75053

Class III Tow Hitch + 2 Spare Hubs

I've also scored the missing boots for the rally bar off eBay, which are very hard to find, especially being NOS.

Ford

E9TZ 15233 A

Rally Bar Light Boots

Currently there are a few projects for the ranger underway, and i'm looking to finally replace the headliner, maybe replace the visors, fix the ABS light (finally), recharge the AC, and get an interior detailing because it needs it.

More restoration to come.

 

[turbo91xlt]

Alright, I'm gonna need you to send that rear tube bumper my way haha. Honestly, delete the RABS valve & pull the fuse. It was a janky setup at best. First sign of trouble with the RABS on my trucks and it gets tossed. Never had an issue braking after that. Those rally bar light boots are neat. The E9 prefix means they'd be correct for my STX also. Speaking of which, I hope you're going to put the STX stripes on the truck!

 

[projectRanger93]

Alright, I'm gonna need you to send that rear tube bumper my way haha. Honestly, delete the RABS valve & pull the fuse. It was a janky setup at best. First sign of trouble with the RABS on my trucks and it gets tossed. Never had an issue braking after that. Those rally bar light boots are neat. The E9 prefix means they'd be correct for my STX also. Speaking of which, I hope you're going to put the STX stripes on the truck!

Haha if I find another tubular version I like you're more than welcome to take this one. Haha tubular dude (CA joke). Yeah I know and I've read enough on the forums to see that's what everyone ends up doing, but i have some naive hope i can fix it. I'll give it 2 more trys and then I'll delete it. Yours didnt originally come with the boots? Actually did you have lights? I didn't see them.. Man I've been looking for my STX stripes for a while now and I've found some for other years but oddly enough the 93/94 design are no where to be found, neither NOS nor reproduction. I will eventually get a paint job, but adding the stripes is TBD.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I said this before but... you have yourself a pretty nice truck!

The history and the fact you have documented everything along the way make it even better...

 

[projectRanger93]

I said thins before but... you have yourself a pretty nice truck!

The history and the fact you have documented everything along the way make it even better...

Thanks for the kind words!!

 

[turbo91xlt]

Sometime before I took ownership of the truck the lights on the rally bar were taken off and the front brush guard was removed due to rust. I'm lucky it still had the rally bar itself and its not rotted lol.

 

[projectRanger93]

Sometime before I took ownership of the truck the lights on the rally bar were taken off and the front brush guard was removed due to rust. I'm lucky it still had the rally bar itself and its not rotted lol.

Do you intend to replace them with originals or something completely aftermarket?

 

[projectRanger93]

AC is finally fixed! Man, what a mess. The slider on the controls didn't work as no air blew through the cabin, so that was due to missing vacuum connections in the engine bay. Fixed . The AC compresser wouldn't turn on, even with refrigerant in the lines, so the low pressure switch was shot and the wires at the connector had broken. Replaced and fixed . AC compresser still didn't cycle and it turns out a rat had chewed the power wire all the way back to the fire wall grommet. New wire was soldered in and rerouted through the fender. Fixed . The blower motor knob was worn so I replaced that. . Lastly, R134a refrigerant was added using a R134a to R12 adapter hose. Air blew cold so and good thing since it's getting hot here in LA again. My fiance sure is happy now. .

 

[projectRanger93]

Installed the tow hitch I got from the junkyard. Forgot to take an after pic of it painted before I installed it. Oh well. Had to flip the bumper upside down to make it fit. Repaired the trailer harness too. To finish it off, I got a Ford hitch plug from Ebay and a 3 ball from HF.

Draw-tite Tow Hitch #75053
Ford Ranger 2" Trailer Tow Hitch Receiver Hole Cover #1L2Z-17F000-CA

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Does the tailgate contact the bumper? It looks like it might in the pics.